Inferno on Athens’ doorstep: Voices from the firestorm
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Where once thick rows of trees stood, only stumps remain, smoke still wafts from the scorched earth. In Chalandri, a hilltop above Athens, a family returns to find their home charred.
Inside an events company’s office, firefighters discovered the body of the first casualty. The unnamed woman, who had worked there for 20 years, took refuge in the bathroom as the fire swept through the village.
Neos Kosmos spoke to Kathy Vlassopoulos, from Australia, who is holidaying in Greece with her partner Achilles Yiangoulis, who was in Athens during the fire.
Vlassopoulos said, “It was a surreal experience for me; life went on as fires raged.”
“While the fires were burning, people in Kifisia were shopping but with a sense of urgency.
“The conversations centred around the fires – Why did this happen again? Who is to blame?”
Vlassopoulos told Neos Kosmos that there was “talk about the council asking people to clean up rubbish around their homes and factories, but it was never collected—and it became fuel for the fire sitting on pavements.”
“The air was so heavy and thick with smoke – there were announcements for the young and elderly and those with respiratory conditions to lock windows and stay indoors.
“Achileas did not leave the apartment at all. I ventured out to get a coffee, and the air was weighty.”
Neos Kosmos also spoke to Vlassopoulos’s cousin, Thomas Gkogkos a local from Athens. All three are now on a ferry to an island.
Gkogkos told said that the “fires were very close. It was very smoggy, very black, and there was lots of debris in the air.
“Smoke, black and thick, and ashes and the smell of burning covered all over Athens.”
They were falling… ashes and stuff.
“It was a bad situation, but the authorities fought them well, but it was still a tough two or three days.”
Gkogkos said firefighting planes constantly flew over, battling the inferno. He told Neos Kosmos that the Greeks were “psychologically” impacted.
“The Greeks have become very pessimistic. Fortunately, the authorities flew a lot of water-carrying planes, and something beat me for now. We lived through it, and now it’s better.”
The Greek state is far more prepared than it was ten years ago. Given last year’s devastating inferno that took the lives of 20 people and turned thousands of square kilometres into ash, the state seems prepared.
Gkogkos believes the authorities did a good thing and sprung to action fast.
“The government is dealing with wildfires better now; however, every summer, this happens.”
He also believes that many in Greece have accepted that “climate change” along with “illegally built houses in forests” have impacted.
“Everyone is aware of climate change that we’re going to catch fire every summer.
“Some houses are built in the woods illegally – they are a problem.”
For now, Greece’s most devastating wildfire of the year has subsided, but firefighters continue battling the remnants. The fire, which began over the weekend, ravaged more than 400 square kilometres of forests in the Attica region, extending into Athens’ suburbs. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate.
Wildfires have become an annual ordeal in Greece, but none have reached so close to Athens, which has over four million residents. Those in nearby villages were stunned by how quickly the flames advanced.
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
